This invention relates to a lawn and garden accessory for clearing leaves, grass clippings and other types of refuse, which can be raked into a pile for removal from a lawn or field. Raking leaves in the autumn and removing them is a common problem. Grass clippings from a lawn mower should also be removed along with other types of light refuse, such as small limbs or dead vegetable matter.
One method for removing such material is to rake it into piles and load the piles into a conveyance. When the material is light and bulky, particularly leaves, the conveyance fills quickly, but with very little weight, and requires many trips. Another method for removing such material is to rake it onto a plastic or cloth tarpaulin or other type of pliant sheet member, gather the corners and manually carry or drag the load to a disposal area.
When the tarpaulin is spread out, it will often not stay in place, due to the wind blowing it or due to the raking action or the blast from a leaf blower. Gathering and holding the corners of the tarpaulin is tiring on the hands of the user when the load is carried or dragged for some distance.
Suggestions have been made in the prior art for addressing various aspects of these problems.
A pickup device for hauling leaves in a pliant sheet member is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,971 issued Mar. 14, 1961 to Buck. The device is provided with hold down stakes and a handle for dragging, but must be especially constructed for the task.
Exemplary of a device to convert a conventional general-purpose tarpaulin for dragging refuse is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,101 issued May 20, 2003 to James, Jr. A mandrel holds the tarpaulin flat on one end while raking and shapes the tarpaulin for dragging the refuse. The tarpaulin must be equipped with a hauling rope running through grommets.
A tarpaulin hold down device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,232 issued Oct. 15, 1996 to Callaway. Stakes with integral handles are attached and retained by conventional grommets on the tarpaulin and used to stake the corners in place. The only purpose for the handles is to push the stakes into the ground.
Another tarpaulin hold down device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,372 issued Apr. 8, 1986 to Osborn. weighted handles are attached to the tarpaulin corners by threaded necks and closures for lifting the tarpaulin. This requires special large grommets and adds to the overall weight of the load, as well as requiring the user to manipulate four handgrips at once.
Lastly, a device for gathering and hooking together the four corners of a tarpaulin is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,831 issued Aug. 31, 1999 to Pangburn. A single bent rod of elastically deformable material is attached by threading the end through all four corners. It would appear to be time-consuming to attach and detach the device, and there is no hand grip by which to hold it.
It would be desirable to have a set of handles which could perform the functions of holding the tarpaulin in place, collecting the load by gathering the corners of the tarpaulin, and serving to carry or drag the gathered load manually with one hand.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved handle for collecting and transporting a load in a tarpaulin or similar pliant sheet member.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved handle for holding a tarpaulin in place while collecting a load of light bulky material on the pliant sheet member.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a handle with improved means for attachment to the corner of a tarpaulin.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved handle which, together with other substantially identical handles in a set, cooperate for collecting and carrying or dragging a load in a tarpaulin.